


In Defense of Dogs Who Misbehave

by Kazymyr



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dog Park, Dogs with tunnel vision, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Mrs. O'Leary being the greatest, Not So Subtle Flirting, rescue dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 23:52:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13798974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazymyr/pseuds/Kazymyr
Summary: “Maybe I’ll just go and tell everyone you’re my new girlfriend. Save them all the trouble.”“Sounds like a pretty solid plan.”“Right?” Will said, lifting Mrs. O’Leary’s face in his hands. “Who could say no to this face?”“Gods know I can’t.”





	In Defense of Dogs Who Misbehave

“Hey,” Nico said, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Do you know where we are?”

Mrs. O’Leary whined from the backseat of the car, wedging her face in between the seatbelt and Nico’s seat. She lifted her nose, sniffing the air that was pouring in from the crack of the window and once she had a good whiff, she whined again and tried to turn her massive head to lick him on the face.

Nico chuckled, reaching up with the hand that wasn’t on the wheel of the car, and rubbed the side of her face as he leaned his head against hers.

“Been a while, huh?”

Mrs. O’Leary’s face disappeared, rushing to the other side of the car as her tail thumped against the back of Nico’s headrest. He smirked, watching her through the rearview mirror before turning his attention back to the parking lot.

There weren’t a lot of cars and Nico was more than a little relieved. He didn’t love the dog park when it was packed with people, not because Mrs. O’Leary wasn’t a friendly dog, but because more than anything he liked being able to walk with her in his own time and not worry about tripping over a dozen people or dogs.

He liked this park. It was a little further from where they lived, but it was big and open. There was plenty of tall grass for her to run through, wide fields perfect for tossing a tennis ball, and a river that ran along the back border that was nice to walk by, even if Mrs. O’Leary wasn’t the biggest fan of the water.

It had been a while. They used to go all the time back when they lived closer, back when Percy used to come with them, but that was years ago and it passed through Nico’s mind more like a thought and less like a memory.

Mrs. O’Leary whined frantically, two giant paws balanced on the center console as Nico parked the car. She nosed at him desperately, jumping back to the seat and pressing her nose against the windows. Nico smiled and unbuckled his seat belt, sliding out of the car.

“Oh, come on,” he said, opening the back door. “Don’t be dramatic. It’s not like I’m going to leave you in here.”

Mrs. O’Leary leapt out of the car and Nico only just barely caught her leash as it went flying by his head.

“Chill out,” he said, digging his feet into the ground to stop from toppling over. “Just give me a second.”

Mrs. O’Leary’s snout was pressed firmly to the ground and she sniffed every square inch she could reach. Nico slung a backpack over his shoulder and locked the car, rolling his eyes and giving her leash a tug in the direction of the park entrance. She took off, Nico jerking forward with her.

“You’re going to pull my arm out of its socket if you keep this up, ya know,” Nico said. “You act like we’ve never done this before.”

Mrs. O’Leary’s tail was wagging enthusiastically. She stopped abruptly at the entrance of the park, smelling up and down a post. Nico tried to move her forward and further in, but whatever she could smell was much more important than anything Nico wanted, so he sighed and waited.

Ahead of them, a couple of dogs were running through one of the fields and Nico could see their legs caked with mud halfway up. It had poured rain the day before and while the sun was out and shining now, he could see there were areas of the park that weren’t quite dried out.

He mentally high-fived himself for remembering to bring a towel.

“Hey,” he said, with another tug on Mrs. O’Leary’s leash. “Come on.”

Mrs. O’Leary relented and sped forward into the park. Nico looked over his shoulder and when they were a good way in, he leaned down and unlatched the leash from her collar.

Mrs. O’Leary turned and looked at him with wide, golden eyes.

“Go on,” he said, gesturing toward the park. “I’ll catch up.”

With permission, Mrs. O’Leary bounded forward. Running around Nico in wide circles before prancing onward, never too far from Nico.

He smiled. The past few years hadn’t been easy for either one of them and it was good to be back in some of their old stomping grounds. Nico wasn’t entirely ashamed to admit that he went through a bit of a quarter-life crisis in that time and aside from the Percy break-up (which _had_ been a good thing but nonetheless threw a wrench into his idea of The Future), Nico had reevaluated his career, moved half a dozen times, and went on the exhaustive search to find a roommate that was willing to live with a 100+ pound dog.

It hadn’t been easy, and there were times that were certainly much darker than others, but Nico was grateful that Mrs. O’Leary had been with him every step of the way. In fact, he was quite sure that if it hadn’t been for her, he might not have made it. Mrs. O’Leary gave him purpose. She gave him a reason to get out of bed in the morning, made him laugh when he thought nothing could, and reminded him that he didn’t have to be perfect in order to love and be loved.

She was a great teacher, even if she did hog most the bed and wake him up in the middle of the night to get under the covers.

Ahead of him, she turned her large head over her shoulder, making sure Nico was still in sight and then took off after a new smell that had caught her attention.

Nico had made a lot of mistakes, but adopting Mrs O’Leary hadn’t been one of them. In fact, it was probably the best things he had ever done.

Despite the chaos of the last couple years, Nico was finally beginning to feel settled. Percy and he were on decent terms, Nico’s new job was more lucrative than his last and the work was rewarding. Two days into his job, he met Jason, who was looking for a roommate and “absolutely loved giant dogs”. Six months later they found a place, and now a year into living together, Nico really couldn’t ask for a better roommate. Jason was easy to talk to, always paid rent on time, relatively clean, and his girlfriend, Piper, was charming as all hell and never managed to overstay her welcome.

Nico’s life wasn’t bad, and maybe it wasn’t exactly what he pictured, but it was nice. He liked his life. He had things pretty figured out.

Mrs. O’Leary barked at a bird, chasing after it. Nico grinned.

_This is fine_ , Nico thought, looking around the park and watching as his dog tromped through a mud puddle (once again, Nico thanked himself for remembering the towel). _If this is the rest of my life… this is good. I can live with this._

Ahead of him, Mrs. O’Leary was still on her wild chase to catch a low flying bird and in a sudden, horrible moment, Nico realized she was on a head on collision path with a stranger and before he could say anything, he watched as Mrs. O’Leary barreled into the innocent bystander and sent him toppling directly into a massive puddle of mud.

Nico’s stomach sank and any happy, calm feelings he had been feeling moments before vanished.

“Shit!” Nico cursed, running forward to the stranger. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? She was just-“

Nico’s words died in his throat and all the apologies running through his mind stopped abruptly as his mind went blank.

_Fucking really?_ Nico groaned internally. _Why does he have to be hot? Couldn’t she have just mowed over some kid?_

The stranger stared down at his muddy hands, still seated in the mud, but Nico was relieved to hear he was laughing. The nerves that had been bundled up in his stomach came loose and gave way to something else that was still a little unsettling but a lot less anxious.

“It’s fine,” the guy said, looking up at Nico with the bluest eyes he had ever seen. “I uh- probably should have been paying attention.”

The stranger stuck out his hand and Nico stared at it dumbly for a second before apologizing and taking it, helping him up. His pants, half his shirt, and most of his arms were completely covered in mud and idly, in the back of Nico’s brain, he noted that no one had any business still looking that good while they were that dirty. There were speckles of mud across his face, and when he looked over at Nico and smiled, Nico realized that some of them weren’t dirt at all, they were freckles and _wow, his eyes are like…_ really _blue_.

Nico’s stomach felt like a game of hopscotch and he stared at him, trying to remember what he should be saying.

“I- I’m really sorry,” Nico stuttered. “I didn’t even know you were there. She’s usually not- Well, she kind of is but-“

“Don’t worry about it,” the guy laughed. “Really. It’s no problem.”

“I uh- I have a-“ Nico slung the backpack off his shoulder, opening it up and pushing past tennis balls and water bottles to dig out the towel he had brought for Mrs. O’Leary. He held it out the stranger. “Here.”

“Thanks,” he said, using it to wipe off his face, arms, and part of his shirt. He nodded his head in the direction of Mrs. O’Leary as Nico tried not to stare too obviously. “Your dog is huge. How much does she weigh?”

“Not totally sure, maybe like 115.”  
  
"Only?"  
  
"It's all the fur. Makes her look bigger than she actually is."

The stranger let out a low whistle. “What is she?”

“No idea. She was a rescue. They kind of assumed she was some sort of a mastiff mix because of her size but uh… yeah. I’ve never been sure.”

“She’s beautiful.” The stranger grinned and Nico felt a little dizzy.

_Which… what the hell?_ He thought to himself. _You’re a grown adult. This isn’t the first time you’ve met an attractive guy. Get it together._

(And then, in the back of his head, he conceded to the fact that it _had_ been quite a few years since he had even bothered being attracted to someone and _maybe_ he kind of forgot how this all worked.)

“Thank you,” Nico replied, darting his eyes around for Mrs. O’Leary and letting out a sharp whistle when he found her. Her ears immediately perked up and her head shot over to Nico. “Hey. Get over here.” Mrs. O’Leary’s head ducked down, but she dutifully padded over, looking at Nico with woeful eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. You should be apologizing, not me.”

Next to him, the stranger crouched down and Mrs. O’Leary immediately began wagging her tail as her focus changed from disappointing Nico to identifying someone who was willing to pay attention to her. The guy reached forward and rubbed her ears. “No apologies necessary, gorgeous. You’re just having a good time.”

Mrs. O’Leary licked a long stripe along his face. Nico groaned. “Oh come on. Leave the guy alone.”

The stranger laughed again and the hopscotch game in Nico’s stomach sped up. “It’s really not a problem,” he said, rubbing her ears and trying to stay balanced as Mrs. O’Leary leaned the full weight of her body against him. “What’s her name?”

“Mrs. O’Leary.” The stranger raised an eyebrow. “She came with it,” Nico explained.

“Gotcha,” he said, standing back up and holding out his hand. “I’m Will.”

“Nico,” he replied, shaking Will’s hand. “And again, really sorry about her.”

“Don’t be. It’s really fine. If I didn’t like dogs, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Uh, yeah,” Nico said, looking around. “Where um… where is your dog? Did we lose her?”

Will paused for a moment, twisting the towel in his hands before giving a tight smile. “I uh… don’t have one.” Nico opened his mouth to ask a follow-up question, but Will was already talking. “I did, I mean, I used to. I just, well, I just lost her and- I didn’t _lose_ her she just… well, she passed away, a couple months ago and I- I just… miss coming here and I- yeah. I’m just not quite ready to… move on, I guess.”

“Oh,” Nico said. “I’m sorry.”

Will shrugged his shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s all part of it, I guess. We had a really good life together and it was just, well, it was her time.”

“Still.”

Will gave him another tight smile. “Yeah.”

Silence fell between them and Mrs. O’Leary stared up at Will from where she was leaning against his legs. She cast a quick glance at Nico. Will cleared his throat, holding the towel out to Nico.

“Anyway, it was nice to meet you. I didn’t mean to interrupt your walk.”

“Oh, no,” Nico said quickly, taking the towel. “You’re not- I mean- _We_ interrupted _your_ walk and I-“ He took a deep breath. “Do you want to walk with us?”

Will looked surprised for a moment and then a small smile curled up into the corners of his mouth and… it was nice. It was _really_ nice. He nodded. “Sure,” he said. “That would be great.”

Without realizing, Nico found himself smiling back. He’s head felt a little light but, at the same time, there was something incredibly grounding about Will. Nico was a little drunk on the feeling and he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt something like this or…

If he even had. This was different. This was a lot less panicky and a lot more smiling than he remembered.

( _It’s been a long time_ , he reminded himself, but there was another voice in the back of his mind that was quiet and insistent but he couldn’t figure out what about.)

Mrs. O’Leary stood in between them, staring at the both of them before letting out an imploring whine. Nico’s focus shifted.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “We’re going, but you have to promise to watch where you’re going from now on.”

Mrs. O’Leary wagged her tail, running in a circle around Will before nudging him in the leg. When he didn’t move quickly enough she ran back and began tugging him forward by the edge of his shirt.

“Oh come on,” Nico lamented. “Could you just-“

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Will chuckled, letting himself be led. Mrs. O’Leary let him a go a moment later, apparently satisfied that Will was coming with them, and after a moment of walking, Will laughed a little to himself and looked over at Nico. “I think your dog just adopted me.”

“Yeah, about that,” Nico replied. “Are you hiding bacon in your pockets or something?”

“Fried chicken, if anything. I thought I took it out of these pants but who knows. Maybe.”

Nico coughed out a laugh that he hadn’t been expecting and had to take a moment before he could recompose himself. “Is that a problem you have?”

“I come from a southern family, you’d be amazed at the places fried food just… shows up.”

“I thought that was a stereotype.”

“Well yeah, but in this case it’s not wrong. Fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, fried fish… you name it. If it gets close enough to a fryer, they’ll fry it.”

“Is it any good?”

Will stopped walking and stared at Nico with a blank stare, blinking rapidly.

Nico looked around. “What?”

“What do you mean, _is it good_? Have you never had fried chicken before?”

“I mean,” Nico scratched the back of his head. “I’ve had like… chicken before. My family is Italian. We don’t exactly-“

“Hold up,” Will said, raising a hand up between them to make his point. “Like, _how_ Italian? Like… New Jersey Italian? Or like… Olive Garden Italian?”

“Um. I was born there? My last name is di Angelo?”

“That’s pretty Italian,” Will conceded, resuming their walk. “Okay, so you’re Italian but like, have you lived under a rock your whole life?”

“You’re not the first person who has asked me that.”

Will laughed and ahead of them Mrs. O’Leary bounced in circles around a frazzled looking dachshund. Nico said an internal prayer she didn’t accidentally step on it. Next to him, Will was smiling, watching the dogs with an amused gaze before turning it to Nico with a spark of something in his eyes. “Well then, Mr. Nico di Angelo, just in case you _have_ lived under a rock, let me culture you in the ways of the south.”

 

* * *

 

 

Will was amazing. He was charming, and genuine, and his sense of humour was grade A. He made Nico laugh more than he had in months and, even better, he looked completely and totally pleased to bits every time Nico smiled.

He was interesting. Way more interesting than Nico could have anticipated and he wasn’t entirely sure why because the things Will talked about weren’t things that Nico knew anything about, but he explained them so passionately that Nico couldn’t help but be enthralled.

He was funny, and handsome, and as the mud on his jeans began to dry, Nico looked over at him and thought:

_An hour and a half ago, I thought I had everything figured out._

Will chucked another tennis ball into the tall grass and Mrs. O’Leary darted after it, her head bobbing up and down through the reeds.

_But now I wonder if having you around wouldn’t make it even better._

Nico smiled to himself, picking at a piece of clover from where he was seated. Will dropped down onto the ground next to him, falling against the grass and flinging an arm over his eyes to block the sun.

“She never quits,” he said, letting out an exhausted breath.

“Nope,” Nico agreed, resting his head on his hand. “But you’re keeping up pretty well.”

“Which is legitimately amazing but I think this is it for me. I am tapping out.”

“Quitter.” Will peaked out from under his arm and stuck his tongue out at Nico. He smirked. “So when is this Texas family reunion that you’re going to?”

Will groaned. “In like six weeks. Every day I dread it a little bit more.”

“I don’t know, man. I can think of worse things than going to a family reunion.”

Will dropped the arm that had been covering his eyes, turning and giving Nico an incredulous look. “Name one.”

Nico pondered his answer. “I mean, I can’t think of something off the top of me head but there has to be.” Will scoffed and Nico smirked. “Come on. Is it really that bad?”

“Not really,” Will relented with a sigh, moving to sit up. “It’s just… Texas isn’t really my sort of place. We moved away when I was a kid for a reason.”

“Not into the cowboy hats?”

“Nor the boots.”

“Shame.”

Will knocked his shoulder into Nico’s, giving him a playful glare. Nico grinned, plucking another clover from the grass. “All my cousins are getting married and it’s like, now I’m the single one and it’s apparently my great aunt’s life goal to find me a girl to marry and I’m not exactly sure how to tell her that _girls_ aren’t exactly my type.”

“I thought you said your mom outed you years ago.”

“Yeah, but there’s a section of the family that is still in denial about it.”

Nico snorted. “Sounds about right.”

“Anyway,” Will shrugged. “It’s going to be a drag but I’m going to go because my mom doesn’t want to suffer on her own and oh well. I’ll just suffer through it and come back with a new appreciation for the fact I don’t have to deal with them all the time.”

Mrs. O’Leary came shuffling back, bright green tennis ball hanging out the side of her mouth until she walked up to Will and dropped it in a slobbery pile on his lap. Nico squawked out a protest, but the dog ignored him, flopping herself down onto Will’s legs.

Nico let out a long, suffering sigh.

“What is it about him that makes you feel the need to just torture him?”

Mrs. O’Leary dropped her head onto Will’s muddy jeans, tongue lolling out. Will smiled down at her, rubbing the top of her head. “Maybe I’ll just go and tell everyone you’re my new girlfriend. Save them all the trouble.”

“Sounds like a pretty solid plan.”

“Right?” Will said, lifting Mrs. O’Leary’s face in his hands. “Who could say no to this face?”

“Gods know I can’t.”

Nico reached over and ruffled his hand into the fur on Mrs. O’Leary’s back. She tried to turn herself over, but only rolled herself further onto Will’s stomach and he let of a brief “ _oof_ ” as she pawed at the air in Nico’s direction until Nico reached over and held her paw. 

Will smiled. “That’s cute.”

“She likes to hold hands,” Nico said with a shrug. “I don’t know where she learned it but she just started doing it the past couple years.”

“You’re her person.”

“Yeah,” Nico agreed. “The feeling is pretty mutual. Kind of wish her breath was better but oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.”

Will laughed and Nico smiled at the sound. It was light and it was melodic and it danced across the dog park until it settled deep inside Nico’s veins. Nico didn’t really believe in things like this, or at least, he hadn’t ever thought about it. He always imagined finding someone would be something slow and gradual, and nothing like apologizing for his dog but now, as he watched Will lean forward and rest his head against Mrs. O’Leary he thought:

_Who is to say it can’t happen this way too?_

Nico pulled his phone out from his pocket and flipped open the camera, fitting Mrs. O’Leary and Will into the frame. “Smile.” Will immediately grinned, tightening his hold around the dog. Nico snapped the picture. “Cute,” he said, smiling at the image on his screen. “Now you can show your new girlfriend off to the family.”

Will leaned over as far as he could, trying to catch a glimpse of the picture. “Can you send it to me?”

“What’s your number?”

Will dutifully recited his number and Nico tapped it into his phone, sending the photo off and saving Will’s number into his phone. Will’s phone pinged and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket, smiling down at the picture. “Ah man,” he laughed. “I look like hell.”

“Fuck off. That is the look of a man in love. How dare you.”

Will laughed, loud and bright and Nico couldn’t help but just smile back at him stupidly.

He was probably in trouble. It was probably wrong to like someone so much so quickly but, Nico didn’t feel all that afraid. There was the rational portion of his brain saying maybe this was heading into dangerous territory but there was also another, louder voice that seemed to be stemming from somewhere in his chest, crying: _Don’t listen to that thing. Give_ me _a chance this time_.

Nico chewed the corner of his mouth.

Will stroked his hand over the side of Mrs. O’Leary’s face. “I think she’s calling it day,” he said.

“Yeah, I think you’re probably right,” Nico said reluctantly. “I should probably get her home.”

Will gave him a tight smile but agreed, and in between the two of them, they managed to get Mrs. O’Leary off of Will and walk their way to the parking lot. They toweled her off, managed to get most of the mud off her paws and then before helping her into the car, Will crouched down and gave her a big hug.

“Thanks for all the love today,” he said into her fur. “Take good care of Nico, okay?”

Mrs. O’Leary turned and looked at Nico expectantly. Nico held out his hands, shrugging his shoulders and she whined, bouncing from paw-to-paw as she kept nudging her nose in Will’s direction as if he were some sort of toy that she found and wanted to take home.

_If only_ , Nico thought.

“What?” he asked her. “We gotta say goodbye to Will.”

Mrs. O’Leary whined again, but this time turned and left another long lick on Will’s cheek. He smiled and ruffled her ears, looking a little disheartened. “You’re the best.”

With a little encouragement, Mrs. O’Leary hopped into the backseat of the car and even though she was exhausted, she sat by the window and stared longingly at Will.

Nico knew the feeling.

“I uh,” Nico cleared his throat. “Sorry again. I know you told me it’s okay but, I _am_ sorry she knocked you over earlier.”

“Don’t be,” Will smiled. “This is probably the most fun I’ve had meeting someone in- well, probably ever. Thanks for letting me tag along and whine about my family.”

“Yeah. No. Sure. We should, um, we should do it again sometime.” Will’s eyebrows raised up. “I mean, the dog park thing. Not that I minded the- or I mean, the family thing but- I uh- yeah. Just look at her. It would probably break her heart to never see you again.”

Will let out a small, breathy laugh and if Nico wasn’t totally crazy, it almost looked like he was a little disappointed. He looked back up at Nico and gave him a small nod. “Yeah. The feeling is kind of mutual.”

“So… I’ll text you?”

“Sure. Whenever.”

“Okay, and um, if I don’t see you before, I hope you have a good time at your reunion.”

“Oh. Yeah. Thanks,” Will said rocking back and forth on his heels. “Um… enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You too.”

Will waited another long moment and then gave Nico a small wave goodbye before turning around and walking in the direction of, what Nico assumed, was his car. Nico waited a few seconds and then opened the door to his own, dropping into his seat and looking in the rearview mirror to find Mrs. O’Leary giving him an unimpressed look.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he muttered, feeling like a coward.

He could have just been honest. He could have just told Will that he wanted to see him again. Not because his dog liked him but because _he_ liked him. Will was gorgeous, and stunning, and easily the best thing Nico had seen ever and- 

Nico groaned and dropped his head onto the steering wheel. “Did I really just tell him my _dog_ wanted to see him again?” Mrs. O’Leary huffed out a breath from the backseat. “I panicked. Don’t judge me.”

Nico looked out the passenger window. Will was still walking across the parking lot.

He could still probably say something. He could actually be honest and tell him that it was _Nico_ who wanted to see him again.

Before Nico realized what he was doing, he was out of the car and rushing across the parking lot calling Will’s name. Will stopped and looked over his shoulder, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. Nico came to a screeching halt in front of him, sucking in air and trying not to let his nerves get the better of him.

Will’s eyes were so blue and they were even better when they were staring at Nico. They were the bluest thing Nico had ever seen and Nico kind of wanted to see them forever.

“Hey,” Will said. “Is everything-“

“Can I take you to dinner?” Nico blurted out quickly before he lost his nerve. “Or- or lunch or… something?”

Will’s eyes widened, and Nico felt his heartrate pick up. What if he totally misread this? What if Will really did just want a dog to hang around and Nico was just this… inconvenient package deal? “I, uh… dinner?”

“Yeah,” Nico stuttered out. “Or- or anything. Whatever.”

“Because… your dog knocked me over?”

“I- Yes,” Nico said and then immediately regretted it. “No. I mean, whatever reason you want, but… _I_ would really like to see you again, not just my dog. I would like to see you, even if she’s not around.”

A smile was hesitating at the corner of Will’s mouth and even the hint of it made Nico want to explode. “You’re sure about that?”

“Yes,” Nico hurried out. “I’m actually really sure about it, and I probably should’ve just said that in the first place.”

“It would have been a lot less dramatic.”

Nico breathed out a nervous laugh and ran a hand through his hair. “I- Yeah. I panicked.”

“Panicked?” Will asked, gesturing to his mud covered clothes. “Really? Because _this_ is intimidating?”

“Um, It’s more like this,” Nico said, gesturing to his face.

“What?” Will said, looking a little panicked as he put a hand to his face. “What’s wrong with my face?”

“Nothing,” Nico blurted out. “Like, literally absolutely nothing, it’s a great face-“

“But?”

“No _but_ s!” Nico heaved in a breath. “Look, I’m baring my soul here so can you just- like- you still haven’t answered my question and I don’t know if this is your way of letting me down or-“

“No!” Will said quickly, waving his hands. “I mean, yes! Yes. I would love to go to dinner with you, or lunch, or whatever. That would be- that would be really great.”

“Awesome,” Nico breathed out, feeling all the tension in his body start to loosen. “I mean, great. Yeah. Um. So… I’ll text you, or you text me, or- Just- Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Will agreed, staring back at Nico with a smile that reached up to his eyes and did strange things to Nico’s stomach. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Nico said more quickly than he was proud of and then mentally cursed himself when he realized he was answering a different question. “I mean, no. I can- If that works for you I can… yeah. Tomorrow is great.”

“Great. Tomorrow. Just you and me.”

“Yes.”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with the dog,” Will quickly defended and Nico laughed, feeling relieved that he wasn’t the only nervous one. “I mean, I am about to go to my family reunion next month and tell everyone she’s my girlfriend so don’t like… think I’m not committed to that.”

“No,” Nico said shaking his head with a smile. “I appreciate that. She likes you. A lot.”

“And you?”

“Ah, she could take me or leave me.”

Will laughed. Nico grinned. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I figured, but I’ve already made a big enough fool of myself so,” Nico jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I should get going and you definitely, probably want a shower so… I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Okay,” Will said with a nod. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Nico echoed, marveling at the promise before awkwardly shuffling backwards toward his car before waving and jogging back.

His heart was racing but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Mrs. O’Leary’s head was spread across the backseat of the car but when Nico deposited himself in the driver’s seat, she raised her head and gave him a questioning look.

Nico’s phone vibrated and when he looked down, there was a text from Will telling him that this was definitely the craftiest way anyone had ever asked for his number.

Nico was smiling so hard his face hurt and when he looked in the rearview mirror to see Mrs. O’Leary staring at him with knowing eyes, he reached back and scratched her ears.

“I owe you one,” he said genuinely. “And I’m not promising anything, but there might be a roast chicken in your future.”

Mrs. O’Leary’s tail thumped against the back of his seat and Nico smiled, staring down at his phone and feeling like maybe the best thing he ever did was fail to teach his dog how to pay attention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.Epilogue.

 

 

Will’s back hit the wall with a _thud_ and Nico meant to apologize, or welcome him back home from Texas, or something, but Will’s mouth was hot against his and half a second after any of those thoughts occurred to him, he forgot them, because the curve of Will’s hips were sharp and hot under his thumbs. Will’s hands tugged at his shirt, one hand skimming up the back while the other fruitlessly tried to lift it up. Nico smirked.

“Can I help you with something?” he asked, a little too breathless to be entirely condescending. Will made a frustrated noise and nipped at his bottom lip, giving his shirt another tug.

“Off,” he growled. “For gods sake just get it off.”

Nico leaned back just far enough to peel his shirt off over his head, pleased to find Will doing the same, chucking his shirt into some irrelevant corner of Nico’s room. Nico barely had a moment to appreciate the sight of Will without all his clothes before Will was back in his space, hands on the side of his face and kissing him as he walked them back toward Nico’s bed.

Nico’s knees hit the back of the mattress and he eagerly pulled Will down with him, letting his hands skim over the lines of his shoulders. He shimmied them further up to the pillows and Will planted himself across Nico’s lap with a friction so good that Nico’s head fell back against the pillows.

“Fuck,” he breathed out as Will made a sound that shot straight to his groin. Nico’s entire body pulsed with heat and he drew Will down to taste his own name falling out of his mouth. He slid his hands down Will’s side, letting his fingers trip over each one of his ribs until Nico felt the hard lines of Will’s hips under his fingers again. He dipped his fingers low along the edge of his jeans, flicking his thumb over the button of his pants and-

Will yelped, shooting straight up.

“Shit,” Nico cursed. “Sorry! What-“

“Not you!” Will laughed, looking over his shoulder. “Goddamn. That is like the wettest fucking nose.”

Nico leaned his head to the side just in time to see Mrs. O’Leary vault herself onto the bed. Tail wagging from side to side as she unceremoniously stomped on Nico’s stomach so she could litter Will’s face with half a dozen slobbery kisses.

“You’ve gotta fucking kidding me,” Nico wheezed, trying to push Mrs. O’Leary off of him. “Seriously, I think you’ve crushed my liver.”

“Hey, come on.” Will was laughing. “You actually might crush- ack!”

Will toppled off of Nico’s lap, Mrs. O’Leary’s full body weight against him as he tried to squirm into some sort of a comfortable position before she laid her entire body across him. Nico clutched the part of his stomach that had just been crushed and nudged her with his foot.

“Hey,” he said. “We were _busy_.”

Mrs. O’Leary’s tail thumped against the bed and Will chuckled, looking over at Nico while he scratched Mrs. O’Leary’s head. “I don’t think she cares.”

“Well _I_ do.” Will laughed again and Mrs. O’Leary stared at him lovingly as she laid her head against his chest. Nico glared at her. “ _Two_ _weeks_. He was gone for _two weeks_."

“Obviously. Look how much she missed me.”

“Yeah, well I did too so like, can I get in on this?”

“Oh chill out You’ll get your chance.”

Nico sighed, flopping down against his pillow. “Blocked by the dog.”

“Not likely to be the first or last time.”

Nico groaned.

Will laughed and flicked a playful slap against Nico’s arm before curling his hand around Nico’s wrist and giving it a light tug. “Come here, whiner.”

Nico let out a dramatic sigh and hefted himself over to his side, leaning forward into Will’s space so he could plant his mouth against Will’s, soft and slow. Nico’s head buzzed and his body felt warm all over again. The heat was different than the one he had felt just a few minutes before, but it was just as good.

Maybe even better.

Mrs. O’Leary whined and Nico gently shoved her face away, but he could feel the gentle vibration of Will’s laughter against his lips. He sighed. “I’m really sorry about her.”

“I’m not,” Will said easily. “I wouldn’t be here without her.”

“Don’t say that out loud, it will go straight to her head.”

Will grinned, turning to Mrs. O’Leary and ruffling the fur on the top of her head. “He acts like he’s not the worst at totally spoiling you.” 

Mrs. O’Leary’s tailed swished against the bed under Will’s attention and she let out another whine and burrowed closer.

Nico smiled and tried to remember the last time his heart felt so full.

Tomorrow morning, Will would still be there. He’d be borderline starfished across Nico’s bed and when he finally came to he might accidentally knock Nico in the face with his arm, but he’d apologize and Nico would play it up just long enough for Will to laugh and tell him to knock it off. They’d fool around, drag themselves out of bed with the encouragement of Mrs. O’Leary and breakfast, and later they’d walk her through the neighbourhood and Nico would reach for Will’s hand without even thinking about it.

Tomorrow was looking good. And so was the day after. And the day after that. Three weeks from now looked good too, and six months wasn’t bad, or even a year, or two, or…

_As long as we’re together_ , Nico thought later that night, both Will and Mrs. O’Leary sound asleep in the dim light of movie credits.

Nico didn’t need Will. Will wasn’t there out of a necessity, a dependency, or an intense fear of being alone. He was there because Nico loved him. Because life was fine without Will, but it was so much better with him in it.

He looked down at Mrs. O’Leary.

_But you’re the reason for all of it._

Nico smiled and ran his hand along her head.

Without her there would have been no getting out of bed. There would have been no search for a better job, a better home, a better friend. He would’ve wallowed in the things he could not change and forgotten the things he could. Back then, he couldn’t do those things for himself, but he could do it for her.

He had to take care of himself, he had to keep going, because she needed him, and he had to be there for her.

Mrs. O’Leary blinked back at him with big, sleepy eyes, extending a paw out toward Nico. He smiled and took it, leaning forward to rest his head against hers.

Because of her, they were here. Because of her, they'd found Will.

“Thank you,” he whispered against her fur, feeling the rise and fall of Will’s chest from where she was leaned. “For everything.”

Mrs. O’Leary nuzzled her face up into Nico’s neck, his head resting on top of hers, one hand buried into her fur, and the other resting loosely against Will’s.

**Author's Note:**

> Adopting a dog was one of the best things I ever did with my life. Let me bleed my feelings all over this fic.
> 
>  
> 
> PS. You guys are all pretty great too.


End file.
